Beast of Burden
by ebineez01
Summary: Lee has an extra special assignment he needs Amanda's help with. Set sometime during season 1. Rated T for upcoming chapters
1. Chapter 1

A/N

As usual - I don't own SMK, Lee (sighs wistfully...if only!) or Amanda

this one will be a few chapters long. Hopefully I can hold onto the plot & stop it spiralling away - that happens sometimes :)

set towards the end of season 1.

hope you enjoy

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Amanda stood in her backyard and stared at Lee. "You want me to what!?" she asked, her voice rising an octave or two, incredulous at Lee's request.

Lee rolled his eyes. Why did it always seem to take so much to get through to her? "I need you to come on an assignment with me Amanda," Lee repeated. "It's as simple as that."

"An assignment is one thing," Amanda argued. "This is something else altogether."

"Why?"

"It really is no use with you is it?" Amanda replied shaking her head. "Why can't Francine do it?"

Lee laughed out loud at the thought. "Oh yeah right," he replied. "I can just see Francine all _grunged_ up in runners, old blue jeans and a t-shirt."

Amanda looked down at herself, well aware that Lee had just described exactly what she was wearing.

Lee, too late, noticed the same thing. "Ah, well you know what I mean Amanda," he tried. "Even if we could get her into them she wouldn't seem at all comfortable."

"And I am?" she asked.

Lee furrowed his eyebrows, shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hands palm up giving her a look as if to say '_Well obviously_…'

Amanda let out an annoyed huff. "And how do you think _you'll_ manage then?" Amanda asked eyeing Lee's standard uniform of suit and tie.

"Hey," Lee protested. "I am completely comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt!"

Amanda snorted. "Yeah as long as they have the right designer label on them!"

Lee gave her an annoyed look.

Amanda shook her head. "And the hair…" she said rather disparagingly.

Now Lee looked downright offended. He reached up to touch his beloved hair. "What about it?"

"Well you never have one hair out of place," Amanda observed. "I sometimes think you must have each individual hair numbered or something it always looks so perfect."

"I like to look well groomed! Unlike some," Lee replied a little snarkily, pointedly staring at Amanda's hair.

"Just like every rock n roll die hard I've ever met…" Amanda replied letting her point sink in.

Lee looked even more annoyed now knowing that Amanda had a point about that. "Okay," he conceded. "I'll do something about the hair. But I'll have you know I do have old runners and jeans that are _not_ designer items. The jeans even have some tears in them."

Amanda smiled as she replied earnestly. "Well you're covered then."

After a moment of silence she continued. "Okay," she agreed, "so I may be comfortable wearing the clothes, but I have no musical talent. I can't play an instrument or even sing that well. Everyone there's gonna know that I'm _not_ comfortable doing _those_ things."

Lee shook his head to assuage Amanda's fears. "That's part of the reason people pay so much to goto these things Amanda," he argued. "If any of them were really good they'd be real rock stars themselves, not paying tens of thousands of dollars to goto a rock camp to be able to pretend to be one."

"Tens of thousands of dollars?" Amanda squeaked shaking her head. "Now I know I can't go," she stated emphatically. "I can't waste the Agency's money like that!"

"Amanda…"

"Wait," Amanda cut in looking hard at Lee As a thought occurred to her. "For tens of thousands of dollars for one single spot at this camp...who's running this thing?"

"A company by the name of Buzz Events runs the camp," Lee replied. "It's owned by Walter Wolford. Apparently he used to be some big shot producer back in the day so he manages to get some pretty impressive talent to provide the coaching sessions."

"So who has he got for the camp we're supposed to be going to?" she asked.

"Would it make a difference to whether you'll come or not?" asked Lee, seeing the spark of interest in Amanda's eyes.

"No!" She replied. _Maybe_, she thought.

Lee took a deep breath, relishing the information he was about to deliver. "The Rolling Stones."

Amanda's eyes widened. "_The_ Rolling Stones!?"

Lee smiled, knowing he'd hooked her now. "Yep. I told you this guy had some pretty good connections."

"The best I'd say!" Amanda replied unable to hide her excitement.

Lee's smile widened into a full blown grin. "So you'll come?"

Amanda still made a show of having to think about it, but a free pass to a rock camp with the Rolling Stones…she wasn't a crazy person…no way would she miss this.

Lee decided to push the advantage. "Think of how cool your boys will think their mom is getting guitar lessons from Keith Richards, drumming lessons from Charlie Watts and vocal coaching from none other than Mick Jagger himself!"

Amanda seemed to come back to the real world at the mention of the boys. "How am I supposed to explain to my family that I'm going to a rock camp that costs tens of thousands of dollars for gosh knows how long…"

"A week," Lee cut in.

"A week?" Amanda exclaimed. "I can't be away for a week! Lee, the boys have soccer practice, a junior trailblazers jamboree I have to get ready for, not to mention the PTA…"

Lee interrupted again. "Soccer practice is at the park on the next corner, so your mother can take them. The junior trailblazers jamboree isn't for another month so you'll have plenty of time to practice your killick hitch! And the PTA doesn't have so much as a carnival, casino night or bake sale planned for the next three weeks!"

Amanda just looked at him. "How did you know…"

Lee smiled that smile that could charm the stockings off Santa Clause...or more likely Mrs. Clause. "I've told you before Amanda…we have our ways…"

Amanda crossed her arms and chewed her bottom lip, looking for some excuse to say no, even though she really would love to have singing lessons from Mick Jagger. The guitar lessons? Maybe not so much…Keith Richards kinda scared her a little. Then it struck her.

"How am I supposed to be able to justify spending that much money on this? Mother's not going to believe a rock n roll camp with the Rolling Stones is going to be cheap."

Lee thought about that for a moment before snapping his fingers. "We could arrange for you to win a competition."

Amanda shook her head. "This has never really been my thing. Mother would never believe that I entered a competition to win a trip to a rock n roll camp."

Lee shrugged. "That's easy enough," he replied. "It could be a competition that you were automatically entered in when you bought something…a tin of coffee maybe?"

Amanda thought about this for a moment. "I suppose that could work," she conceded.

"Great!" Lee exclaimed. "So it's agreed, you'll do it. I'll let Billy know and he can finalise everything."

"Wait," Amanda stopped Lee as he was heading for her side gate. "You never told me _why_ we need to goto a rock camp, or why you need me to go with you."

Lee looked impatient to leave now he'd talked Amanda into agreeing to come on the assignment with him.

"There have been some death threats against members of the Rolling Stones if they come over here to attend this rock camp…"

"Really!?" Amanda cut in eyes wide.

Lee rolled his eyes, not able to believe that Amanda still hadn't gotten over this stage of their assignments. "Yes Amanda, _really_!"

"But why would anyone want to hurt the Rolling Stones?" she questioned. "And just for coming here to goto a rock camp of all things?"

"Apparently some people out there don't like the material they perform or the way they perform it," Lee replied. "They've always received some crackpot threats when they come here to perform, but they've never paid much attention before and it's never mounted to anything."

Amanda's brows furrowed. "So what makes this time any different?"

Lee shook his head. "We're not really sure," he admitted. "But their manager refused to book them for the camp if there wasn't some serious security there for them."

"Well couldn't they have hired some security guards or something?" Amanda asked. "I mean the Agency seems like a bit of overkill doesn't it?"

Lee shrugged. "The state department is taking this threat seriously, and they don't want something as internationally damaging as the murder of Mick Jagger on American soil."

Amanda nodded at this, understanding that no country would want that on their hands.

"And the director of the Agency is a huge Stones fan," Lee added. "Who just so happens to be booked into this very camp himself, so it really was a no brainer which department got the assignment. As far as you're concerned, I need another set of eyes and ears around the camp in case any of the attendees happens to be the one who's making these threats. And as there'll be a few women attending Billy thought you'd be a good choice."

Amanda tossed her head in that self deprecating way she had. "Oh, so it was Billy's idea that I come along?"

"Of course," Lee replied, giving her a look. "This setup isn't exactly my ideal either you know Amanda."

"No of course not," Amanda replied, getting more than annoyed at the way the Scarecrow always seemed to do this. "God forbid I would be anyone's first choice of a partner."

Lee knew he'd put his foot in it again. "Well I have to go and talk to Billy, so I'll see you later." He was just about through Amanda's side gate when he heard her call out to him again.

"Lee…"

He closed his eyes before plastering on a smile and turning back to her. "Yes Amanda?"

"When is this camp supposed to be taking place?" she asked.

"Starts on Saturday."

"_This_ Saturday?" Amanda asked her eyebrows raised.

"Yeah," Lee replied. "This Saturday."

"But its Wednesday now…" she let that statement hang.

Lee just looked at her. "So?"

"Never mind," she said shaking her head. By now she knew she should know better than to expect Lee Stetson to comprehend what it was like to have responsibilities outside this job, and not be able to drop everything at moment's notice to goto a rock camp of all things.

Lee sighed and looked at his watch again. "Listen, Amanda…"

Amanda put her hands up shooing him away. "Just go Lee!"

"Amanda!" he protested, as she turned him and pushed him in the back so he nearly stumbled through the open gate.

She shut the gate in his face. Leaning up against the back side of it, she closed her eyes shaking her head wondering how she managed to let herself get talked into these things. She could practically hear her mother's voice now when she found out about it. _And this Saturday!_

"Amanda…" Lee's voice coming from over the top of the gate cut through her thoughts.

She looked up to see him hanging from the top of the gate peering down at her.

"I'll pick you up at six on Saturday morning," he stated before dropping back to the ground and walking off.

"Great," she muttered before crossing the yard to the back door. She was inside no more than a minute before she heard the front door open.

"Amanda, I'm home," her mother called coming through entryway.

As her mother entered the kitchen, Amanda plastered on a big grin. "Mother!" She exclaimed, trying to sound truly convincingly thrilled with the news she was about to deliver. "You'll never guess what!"

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okay, so there's chapter one. hope you've enjoyed it so far & didn't think it was too far of a stretch to have the Rolling Stones coaching at a rock n roll camp. I didn't think so not if the rich people attending were paying that much for it. Plus - this is fiction after all :)

Reviews are love :) and they very much inspire to write more


	2. Chapter 2

Jamie, Phillip and Dotty were all sitting on Amanda's bed watching her pack for her upcoming week of rock and roll camp.

"It's _so_ cool that you're going to get to meet The Rolling Stones mom," said Phillip as he handed Amanda her old denim jacket.

Dotty intercepted the jacket and held it up. "I can't _believe_ you still have this thing Amanda!" Exclaimed Dotty. "I remember the first time I caught you sneaking in after breaking curfew...you were wearing _this_ jacket."

Amanda gave her mother a look and grabbed the jacket from her, changing the subject. "I'm surprised you boys even know who The Rolling Stones are."

Jamie and Phillip glanced at each other and rolled their eyes. "Mom!" They chorused.

"We're not little kids!" Complained Jamie.

"Well I'm not anyway," added Phillip nudging his younger brother.

"You know Amanda, I sense you're having second thoughts about all this," stated Dotty as she repacked Amanda's jeans. "I _could_ take your place. If you wanted. You know, just so it wouldn't go to waste."

Amanda looked at her mother astonished. "I'm surprised you know who they are mother."

"Oh _Amanda!"_ Her mother remonstrated. "I'm hardly an old lady! I was your age...or thereabouts, during the British Invasion, and The Rolling Stones were a big part of that." A dreamy look came over Dotty's face. "The things Mick Jagger could do with his..."

_"Mother!"_ Amanda interrupted, glancing at the boys. Seeing their confused glances at each other, Amanda was happy to note that, for all their protests, they were still her little boys. For now anyway.

"Well I'm not _dead_ Amanda," Dotty replied giving her daughter a look.

"Duly noted mother," Amanda replied seriously and turned to finish her packing.

"So who did you say was picking you up in the morning darling?" Asked Dotty, trying to feign nonchalance.

"Just a friend from work mother," replied Amanda trying not to smile.

"Oh...well you should invite him in for some breakfast before you two head off," Dotty suggested casually, noting that Amanda didn't deny it was a 'him'. Amanda had been acting strangely for the last few months, and Dotty was sure there was something more going on with this _friend_ from work than she was letting on. _Poor Dean._

"We'll be in a hurry to get away mother," Amanda explained, obviously having no intention of inviting Lee in for breakfast. "Now everybody scoot," she said waving her audience away. "I'll never finish packing with the peanut gallery here!"

"The what?" Asked Jamie.

"Never mind boys," said Dotty as she rose from the bed. "Get your coats and I'll take you to the park."

"Yeah!" Cried Phillip.

"Can we get ice cream?" Asked Jamie as he jumped off the bed.

Dotty looked at Amanda. "If your mother gets to spend a week with Mick Jagger...we can have ice cream."

"Yay!" Yelled both boys as they ran from the room to get their coats.

"Thank you mother," said Amanda giving Dotty a quick hug.

That night Amanda found it hard to sleep thinking about the week ahead. She was surprised to find that she was almost as nervous about spending the week with Lee Stetson as she was with The Rolling Stones.

Amanda rose bright and early the next morning, had her shower and her coffee and a light breakfast. She had her bags by the front door ready to race out as soon as Lee pulled up out the front.

Her mother and the boys were still sound asleep at 5:45 on a Saturday morning, so she kissed each gently on the forehead before leaving a note for them on the chalkboard in the kitchen.

"_Phillip and Jamie be sure to mind your grandma. Love to you all. See you next Saturday."_

The clock ticked over 5.55 as Amanda put the last of her breakfast things in the dish drainer. She took one last look around her kitchen before heading to the front door. She had just turned to lock the front door behind her after moving her bags out to the stoop when she heard Lee's little silver Porsche pull up at the curb. She smiled to herself as she gathered her things and headed down the path to his car, happy that he had brought the Porsche and not some car provided by the Agency. She loved riding in his little car, not that she'd tell him that of course. He loved the thing so much already he certainly didn't need anymore encouragement.

Amanda stood holding her two bags by the trunk as Lee popped the hood.

_"Amanda,"_ Lee called from the front of the car. "Bags go in the front remember?"

Amanda shut her eyes briefly. _Should have remembered that,_ she thought as she headed round to the front of the car. As she rounded the front fender she stopped, nearly dropping her bags.

"Oh my gosh," she breathed as she beheld the sight before her. Lee Stetson wearing a pair of worn..._very well worn_...blue jeans, bent over the cargo area of the little car making room for her gear.

Lee stood and turned to face her. "Did you say something?" He asked as he reached for her bags.

Amanda shook her head, not trusting her voice. As Lee turned back to stow her gear she took the chance to check out his rear end again - just to make sure that he was appropriately dressed for their undercover assignment of course.

Lee closed the hood of the car and turned to Amanda smiling and holding out his arms. "So, do I pass?"

Amanda tossed her head and smiled. She cleared her throat as she looked him over, probably taking a little more time than she really should have. But seeing as he was inviting her to check him out she wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

Lee wore scuffed black boots, leading up nicely to those jeans. Amanda swallowed as she looked at those jeans. They looked about as good from the front as they did from the the rear. They fit him _very_ well and did indeed have tears in all the right places. They were well worn and he _definitely_ looked very comfortable in them. She tried not to let her eyes linger too long on his large belt buckle, visible where an old black Led Zeppelin t-shirt tucked into the front. She noticed that only that small section of his shirt was tucked in to leave the buckle visible, the rest of his shirt tail hanging out. Then her eyes made their way to his, her face colouring at the amused look on his face watching her checking him out.

"I like your hair," she managed to choke out after a few moments.

He grinned, reaching up to run his hand through his mussed locks.

"I got it cut a couple days ago," he explained. "Haven't combed it since. This is what it looked like when I woke up this morning."

Amanda cleared her throat at that thought, and nodded. "Oh well...good to know...if I ever find myself waking up next to you...there won't be any surprises..." _Oh my goodness, __**stop talking Amanda!**_

Lee's eyebrows rose further than Amanda thought possible, but he paused only a beat before his grin turned into something entirely different, something that made Amanda's knees go a little weak. After a moment he broke their silence.

"Shall we?" He asked.

"Yep!" Amanda squeaked, really very glad he hadn't made more of her faux pas.

As they headed back past Lee's place, Amanda became curious. "You know you never told me where this camp is being held," Amanda noted.

Lee looked a little peeved when he answered her. "Well if you hadn't thrown me out of your yard the other day I probably could've given you a few more details."

Amanda gave him an equally peeved look. "Oh! I did not throw you out of my yard!"

"You did too!" Argued Lee.

"What are you? _Twelve_?" Remonstrated Amanda.

"New York," Lee answered with a pout.

"New York!?" Amanda exclaimed. "You know Lee, I know we've had quite a few of these 'need to know' conversations, and this is one of those times that I really think I needed to know! Don't you think that maybe you should've told me we were going interstate?"

"Why?" Lee asked confused. "It's not like we're going out of the country."

Amanda shook her head. Closing her eyes she mumbled, "You'll never understand."

"What's to understand?" Lee asked exasperated.

Amanda looked at him incredulous. "I have responsibilities Lee," she chided. "They're called children, and to a lesser extent my mother..."

"I understand that Amanda," Lee responded patiently. "But your children _are_ under adult supervision, namely by your mother." He turned towards her slightly. "She did a pretty good job once before, I'm sure she can handle it again."

Amanda took Lee's point, and thought there may have even been a vague compliment in there somewhere, but her children were her responsibility, and she told him as much. "Mother is doing me a favour looking after the boys, and yes," Amanda agreed, "she is of course very capable. But she still needs to know where she can reach me, and the fact that I'll be much further away in case of an emergency than I told her I would be is not okay!"

Lee looked a little abashed at that. "Okay," he replied nodding. "Point taken. In future if we're going to be any distance from home I'll make sure I let you know. Maybe you can call your mother when we get there and tell her there was a mix up with the ticketing information?"

Amanda seemed a little mollified at that. "Thank you, I will and I appreciate it."

"Although, if you hadn't thrown me out of your yard, you would've known..." he mumbled.

Amanda stared daggers at him. "Did you say something Lee?"

Lee looked at her innocently. "Not a peep."

Amanda now realised that they were going to be confined in his small car for quite a few hours longer, so decided for both their sakes to let it drop. It wouldn't do anyone any good if they turned up at their destination looking for a killer, ready to murder each other!

After they'd been driving for a little while longer, a thought occurred to Amanda. "Was that a guitar case I saw in your trunk?" Her brow furrowed. "Under your hood? This car is very confusing."

Lee laughed, all thoughts of their earlier harsh words forgotten. "Cargo space or storage compartment," he clarified. "Though trunk will do."

"Don't change the subject Scarecrow," she warned. "Do you play the guitar?"

Lee shrugged. "I picked up a little from the enlisted men's hangouts when I was a kid."

Amanda frowned as she turned to face him, her motherly nature kicking in. "Oh Lee, I really don't think that would have been a very nice place for a little boy."

Lee smiled at Amanda's sentiment. "Amanda, that was a long time ago," he pointed out.

"I know," she replied quietly as she looked forward again. _Although, maybe you're not as far removed from those days as you think,_ she thought as she studied him covertly out of the corner of her eye. She'd known Lee Stetson for a while now, and occasionally glimpsed the self he tried to keep hidden. It seemed to Amanda that there was more of that little boy left inside of him than he cared to admit.

"Electric or acoustic?" She asked, wanting to keep any topic that involved his personal life afloat.

"Well, since we're going to rock n roll camp, this ones electric," he replied easily. "But I have acoustic guitars as well."

_Guitars_? Amanda thought. _Plural? He must be pretty good if he has more than one._

"What can you play?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, all kinds of stuff I guess."

Amanda chewed her bottom lip.

"What?" Asked Lee when he noticed the look on her face.

"This performing thing just seems a lot more real all of a sudden...I was kinda hoping that we'd nab the bad guy and be outta there before I actually had to do anything in front of anyone," she confessed.

"And we probably will," Lee tried to reassure her. Not telling Amanda that the whole week was paid for already, so that even though he was also hoping to catch the perpetrator quickly, he had no intention of leaving before the week was up.

"Do you have anymore information on who might be doing this?" Amanda asked, all business now they were discussing the case.

Lee shook his head, giving a frustrated sigh. "No nothing," he admitted. "We've had the managers office under surveillance for weeks. New threats keep turning up, but we can't seem to catch how."

"Does that mean they're not coming through the mail?" She asked.

Lee looked over to her impressed despite himself. "Good pick-up Amanda. Every threat has been hand delivered, no post marks or identifying factors of any kind. Which is why we've had the office staked out. But as yet, nothing."

Amanda nodded, processing the information.

"And you wanna hear something even stranger?" He added.

"What?"

"All the threats regarding the group appearing at the camp have been turning up at the managers office in London,"

"Okay."

"He arrived in New York three days ago..."

"Don't tell me," Amanda interrupted. "Now the threats are being delivered here?"

Lee nodded. _She's getting pretty good at this,_ he thought. Not, however passing the compliment on.

"So is it someone that's followed their manager here?" Amanda asked. "Or is it a team? One on each side of the Atlantic?"

"That's something else we need to work out," he admitted.

"Are the group themselves here yet?"

Lee nodded. "They've been over here for a few weeks. Apparently they wanted to get in some studio time while they're here."

"Huh!" Amanda breathed.

"What are you thinking?" Lee asked. He had learned that it could be very beneficial to encourage Amanda to talk through her hunches. It was however, a fine line trying to avoid crossing over into ramble territory. One that Lee was still trying to find.

"Well," Amanda began, seeming to be trying out the thought as she voiced it. "Doesn't it seem strange that this person, or people," she corrected. "That they're against the band themselves and the music they perform, but none of the threats have been delivered to them personally? Only through the managers office?"

Lee shrugged. "I don't know," he replied. "Getting the threat aimed at them would get the job done wouldn't it? No matter where it was delivered. Besides," he added. "It would have to be easier to get access to the managers offices to make the drop than it would be to any of the band members."

Amanda didn't look convinced. "Maybe originally," she conceded. "But after you started your surveillance?"

Lee considered that for a moment before Amanda spoke again.

"And I would think that it would have much more of an effect if it had been delivered to the band themselves."

"Why? If it says the same thing and it's getting passed on? You think it would be worth the extra risk?" Asked Lee.

Amanda shrugged before continuing. "It says 'I can get to _you_.' You know? Not just I can get a message to you."

Lee did know. And he was angry that he hadn't thought of that point himself. It may mean nothing, but in his business a little detail like that could mean everything. And Amanda had had to point it out to him. _Maybe I do need that vacation I've been thinking about..._

Lee seemed lost in his own thoughts for the moment so Amanda left him to it. She was happy to have some time to think over what they knew about the case so far, including what, if anything, was the significance of the notes being sent to the manager instead of the band.

After another hour or so, Lee could tell Amanda was starting to get fidgety. "Did you want to stop somewhere?" He asked.

"Some coffee might be nice," Amanda replied, stretching her arms above her head as best she could in the little car.

Lee smiled. "You got it," he replied. "Next place you see you want to stop, just let me know." Truth be told he was dying for some coffee himself now that she'd mentioned it. He'd been so preoccupied with his own thoughts, it never occurred to him to stop before this.

About fifteen minutes later they pulled into the lot of an all night truck stop that Amanda had pointed out.

Lee looked at her askance. "Come here a lot do you?"

Amanda returned the look. "These guys drive for a living Lee. If this place was no good, they wouldn't stop here."

Lee considered that for a moment, then nodded as he got out of the car and stretched.

Amanda looked over from where she was still seated in the car, just in time to see his t-shirt ride up as he stretched. She closed her eyes on the thoughts and feelings that tantalising glimpse of bare skin was causing. Then, just as quickly her left eye sneaked back open to catch another glimpse before his arms dropped back to his sides, his shirt once again covering up his taught stomach.

Lee startled Amanda as he popped his head back in the open door of the car. "You coming or not?"

Amanda knew she must look like a deer in the headlights just then. She just hoped she didn't also look like someone that had been well and truly busted checking out her partner.

"Yep!" Was all she was able to come up with for the second time that day.

Amanda tucked into the bagel Lee had brought back for her with their coffee. "This is delicious," she declared as she watched him demolish the donut he'd bought for himself. "I thought the Scarecrow only did coffee for breakfast," she observed.

Lee washed down the last of his donut with his third top-off of coffee since they'd arrived. "It's been an early morning, I felt like I needed a sugar hit," he explained. "And I hate sugar in my coffee."

Amanda pinched off another piece of the bagel, putting it into her mouth a question forming in her mind. "Lee, what's our cover?"

"Well, to make it easy for you," he began. "You're going to be exactly who you are. Divorced,..."

"Separated," she reminded him.

"Okay," he huffed. "_Separated_, mother of two, from the suburbs who won a free ride to the camp in a competition. Although we've booked you in under Amanda Keen, instead of King. Just to be safe."

Amanda nodded. "I can remember that. And who are you?"

Lee smiled. "I'm an insurance broker who wants to play at living his teenage dream of being a rock star. Probably pretty much the same as every other guy that will be there. My name is Lee Stimson."

Amanda kept nodding. "And how do we know each other?"

"We don't," Lee explained.

"But won't it look funny if we turn up together then pretend not to know each other?" She asked reasonably.

Lee shook his head. "We're not going straight to the venue Amanda," he explained.

"We're not?"

"Nope. I'll drop you off a few blocks away and you can catch a cab. Say you caught the train in from the burbs."

Amanda was suddenly very glad that she hadn't packed too much, or too heavy if she had to lug her bags around.

"Okay," she agreed good naturedly. "But how are we going to communicate?"

Lee shrugged. "I didn't say we couldn't talk," he clarified. "Just that we didn't know each other before we turned up to the camp. I'm sure we'll both be talking to a lot of people we've never met before."

Amanda smiled at this. She liked to meet new people. Then she frowned. She just really didn't like lying to them.

Lee read the emotions crossing Amanda's face. He really did need to have a word to her about being so transparent all the time. "Just remember that there could be a killer in amongst these people Amanda," he pointed out.

"Or even killers," Amanda added thoughtfully.

Lee nodded. "Okay, let's hit the road huh? Check in and orientation starts at two, and I wanna get there early so I can hang around the reception area to see who we've got turning up to this thing."

"How many people are we talking about anyway?" She asked.

"There were fifty three booked in," he replied. "But the camp will take up to sixty, so there could be some late comers that we don't know about."

"Did the Agency do a background check on everyone that was booked into the camp?" Asked Amanda as Lee held the diner door open for her.

"Yeah," Lee confirmed. "But that doesn't mean that everyone that turns up is who they say they are. And I want to be able to get any extra names to Billy and Francine as soon as I can."

"Right," Amanda replied thoughtfully. "But how will you know if they're not?"

Lee looked at her. "What?! Not what?"

"Who they say they are," she clarified.

"I've memorised all the attendees names and faces," Lee replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world to be able to do that for fifty three people. _Fifty one_, Amanda corrected herself, as she took the two of them out of that list. _But still..._

A few hours and ten games of 'punch buggy' and 'I spy' later, played mostly by Amanda by herself, Lee pulled up to a cab stand. He helped Amanda get her bags out of his car and into a waiting cab, giving the driver the name of the hotel they would be going to.

"Well," he said, glancing around, his hands on his hips. "I guess I'll see you there Mrs Keen."

"Not that you'll know it when you do of course," Amanda added with a knowing smile.

Lee nodded his head once. "Right," he agreed. "Glad you remembered that. And you won't even have to have an excuse for not remembering my last name."

Amanda shook her head as she got into the cab. "I'm not entirely sure that a wholesome suburban single mother of two like me, would want to be involved with a fast talking insurance broker like you Mr Stimson." She closed the door of the cab, rolling down the window. She looked him up and down quickly before adding, "A fast talking insurance broker who's obviously out for _a lot_ more than playing rock star dressed like that."

The cab drove off before Lee could respond, leaving him with his mouth hanging open staring after it's tail lights. He looked down at himself, not having the faintest clue what Amanda was talking about. "Dressed like what!?" He wondered aloud.

::::::

thanks for the nice reviews. Hopefully I can keep the plot moving along okay. I tend to veer off in strange directions sometimes :) I promise they will actually make it to the rock n roll camp in the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N

sorry it's taken a while to update this one. I hope you enjoy :)

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Amanda and Lee saw each other briefly at the check in table in the foyer of the hotel. They ignored each other until they got into the elevator to go up to their rooms.

Amanda looked over at Lee's key. "Hey," she said holding up her own key. "We're across the hall from each other."

Lee looked at her. "That's the way I planned it Amanda," Lee replied as if it should have been obvious.

"Oh?" She squeaked. _What else does he have planned_? she wondered, and even the voice in her head sounded 'squeaky' to her.

"It'll make it easier for us to get together each night..."

"_What?!_"

"...to discuss what's happened at the camp during the day."

"Of course to discuss what's happened at the camp during the day," she replied, mortified at what he must think she thought. "What else?"

He eyed her speculatively. "Yeah...what else?"

"Nothing else!" she replied quickly, just wanting to get away from the subject. "So what's the plan now?"

"I'm going to stow my gear and then get back down to the check in area," he replied, all business again. "Luckily they've set up near the bar so it won't look too suspicious me hanging around."

"Right," she nodded. "What about me?"

Lee looked at her. "What about you?"

Amanda closed her eyes. _Why does he always have to make this so difficult?_ "What do you want me to do?"

He shrugged. "Put your stuff up, and then wait up here for a while. Come down in about an hour and start to mingle. They said that there'd be a mixer starting in an hour or so in the bar."

"Right," she replied. "And it'll give me time to fill in this questionnaire they gave us." Amanda added holding up the paperwork they were given on checking in.

Lee looked at her. "You're actually going to fill that in?"

Amanda looked at the papers in her hand. "Of course," she replied. "They said it was very important so they could place us in the right groups to maximise our experience."

"I know," said Lee impatiently. "I was there too remember?"

"So then," Amanda replied reasonably. "You should know how important it is."

"_Amanda_," Lee started, rubbing a hand across his face.

"I'm just saying Lee," Amanda continued. "We're supposed to blend in and be part of the camp, so I really think you should fill in these papers." As the elevator door opened, she followed Lee out into the hallway, opening out the questionnaire. She tried to point out the first few questions to him as they walked. "See, it's asking about what type of music we like, if we play an instrument..."

Lee stopped outside the door to his room. Dropping his duffel, he placed a hand on Amanda's arm. "Okay," he agreed finally. "I'll fill in the damn questionnaire."

Amanda stopped and looked at him. "Well good," she said as she tucked the papers under her arm pulling her door key out of her pocket. "I guess I'll see you later then."

"Okay good," Lee replied, glad he'd finally gotten Amanda to stop her ramble about the damn paperwork. "But remember when you come down..."

"I don't know you," Amanda finished.

"Right," Lee agreed as he opened his door and went inside.

::::::::::

"I see you're a guitar player too," said a soft voice very close to his right ear.

Lee turned slowly to look at the woman who spoke to him. As he watched, she walked around to sit across the table from him. She had short dark hair, sort of sticking out at odd angles, with a dark blue streak through it. She was slim and attractive in a 'tinker bell' pixie sort of way.

He dropped his pen on the papers and smiled at her. "Yeah, lead," he replied easily. "You?"

She mimed playing chords and smiled. "Bass."

"Ahh," Lee replied nodding as he smiled back at her.

"My name's Maggie by the way," she said after a moment.

Lee held out a hand and she took it. "Lee," he replied, noting with interest that she held onto it for way longer than necessary.

Amanda walked into the bar, smoothing out the stick on name tag on her shirt. She looked around and saw Lee, sitting at a table with a pretty young woman both of them laughing. She rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly. _Just can't help yourself, can you Scarecrow?_ She took a seat at the bar and ordered a lime and soda.

"Now that's not very rock n roll," a voice sounded from next to her.

Startled, Amanda spun to face the direction the voice had come from, looking straight into the most gorgeous pair of chocolate brown eyes she had ever seen. "Oh...well," she stuttered.

"Ahhh, I see," he replied softly.

"You do?" She asked, momentarily confused.

He shrugged, raising his own glass. "This is actually ginger ale," he confided. "I guess we're gluttons for punishment being sober in this kind of lifestyle huh?"

_Oh_! Amanda suddenly realised what the man had surmised about her drink choice. She was about to set him straight, but for some reason changed her mind, deciding to let the man think what he already did. She shrugged instead. "I guess you just...gotta do what you gotta do right?"

The man smiled, a small dimple appearing in one lightly stubbled cheek. If he could possibly do anything to make himself more attractive than he already was...that was certainly it. He clinked his glass to hers.

"I like that Amanda."

She looked startled at the use of her name.

He gestured to the front of her shirt. "Name tag," he said.

Amanda let out a breath, feeling a little foolish that she had forgotten that she was wearing one. But since no one else seemed to be following the rules and wearing one, it probably wasn't too much of a wonder that she'd forgotten. She reached up and peeled it from her shirt, rolling it into a ball and placing it in a nearby ashtray.

After a moment Amanda turned back to the man. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't ask your name."

He looked to her and smiled that smile again. "Kinda makes the name tags make sense huh?"

"Yes well," Amanda began, stopping herself before she launched off into a very PTA mom rant about rules being there for a reason, her argument with Lee about the questionnaire still fresh in her mind.

"Felix..."

"Well it's very nice to meet you Felix," Amanda replied. "So do you play an instrument?"

Felix nodded. "Lead guitar."

"Oh really?" She asked. "Gosh, I'd just love to be able to play an instrument."

He raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, I sing...a little," she explained.

He nodded. "Well that's cool. What sort of stuff are you into?"

"Oh," she said getting her questionnaire out of her bag. "Well I checked a few different boxes," she replied, pointing to a spot on the questionnaire.

Felix leaned over to take a closer look. "So I see," he said. "I'm impressed...country, rock and...yodelling..."

"I had to write that one in there," said Amanda. "They didn't have a box for it, and I couldn't really think how to put it in any of the categories they did list."

Felix shook his head and smiled. "Yodelling definitely should have its own category."

Amanda smiled at him. _He's a very nice man_, she thought. _And he seems to have some very interesting tattoos._

"How about you?" She asked, taking a sip if her drink.

Felix shrugged. "I dunno, I guess I'm into all kinds of stuff, but I mostly play rock."

"Did you not fill out your questionnaire either?" Amanda asked, a little disappointed.

"Either?" He asked.

"Oh, I just overheard some people saying they wouldn't be filling out the questionnaire when I was checking in," Amanda covered quickly.

"Oh really?" Felix asked. "Well they won't be getting very far in the camp then."

"What do you mean?" Asked Amanda.

He shrugged. "If you don't fill it in, they can't place you in a group. And if you don't go into a group, then you can't really participate in the camp."

"Oh," Amanda replied nodding, glad she insisted that Lee fill it out. "You sound as though you've been here before."

Felix nodded. "Can I tell you a secret Amanda?"

Amanda looked around them, then nodded as she leant closer to him.

"I actually work here," he admitted.

"At the bar?" She asked looking around.

Felix chuckled. "No, at the camp."

"Ohhhh," Amanda nodded. "As what?"

He flicked his head slightly, smiling. "A guitarist."

Amanda frowned, clearly not understanding.

"I help with the coaching," Felix explained. "And I also sometimes join a group if one is short a lead guitarist."

"What are the groups about?" She asked.

"Well, based on the questionnaire," he started. "We place campers into preliminary groups. We use a few different things to decide, but mainly it's based on how people rate their level of experience and also on their musical preferences."

"Oh, well that makes sense."

Felix shook his head, looking sorrowful. "I should probably break it to you now Amanda," he began. "I think you'll be in a group of one based on the yodelling."

"Oh...well," she replied, tossing her head and smiling. "At least I'll know where to find a good lead guitarist."

Felix laughed at that. "Anytime you need my help, you just..."

"Yodel?" She asked.

He smiled a really genuine smile and nodded. "You just yodel." Genuine people were few and far between in his business, and he was glad to make the acquaintance of one of them. "So how did you rate your experience level?" He asked, looking towards Amanda's questionnaire again.

She opened it to the right page and showed him.

"Ah," he said as he looked at it. "I see you've been making up your own categories again."

"Well," Amanda began, feeling a little embarrassed. "They only had 'beginner', 'intermediate' and 'advanced,..."

"And you thought you were..."

"Learner beginner," she confirmed as she looked at the page.

"Learner beginner," he agreed.

"Well I just don't think I'm very good that's all," she admitted. "To tell you the truth, I'm terrified of having to get up and sing in front of anyone."

"So why are you here if that's the case?" He asked, intrigued by this woman.

Amanda just realised that she may have blown her cover. "My mother gave it to me as a birthday present..." She blurted.

Felix whistled under his breath. "That's a pretty pricey present."

Amanda shook her head ruefully. "I tried to get her to take it back, but she said she wanted me to get out and try new things and meet people."

"Well you've come to the right place for that," Felix replied. He nudged her with his arm. "Don't worry Amanda, I'll look after you."

"You will?" She asked, grateful for his concern.

His heart melted a little at the vulnerable look in her lovely brown eyes. He caught her brown ones with his and smiled. "Promise," he replied, making a small cross motion over his heart.

"You know Felix," Amanda said, reaching out to place a hand on his arm where it rested on the bar. "For a rock n roll guitar player, you're really very sweet."

A look of mock horror came over his features. "Please...don't tell anyone..."

Amanda laughed and he was captivated.

She repeated his motion of making a small cross over her heart. "Your secret's safe with me," she whispered.

::::

"So...I'll see you around Mr. Lead Guitar," Maggie said as she rose from her seat. "Who knows," she said, throwing him a cheeky smile. "We might even end up in the same group together."

The smile he gave her in return positively dazzled. "That would definitely be...interesting..."

Maggie let out a sharp bark of laughter. "Well you certainly have the ego for this business..." she replied, not losing her smile, before turning and walking away.

Lee watched after her, thinking he really would like to get to know her better. She already seemed to have met quite a few of the other campers, and he thought he may be able to get some valuable information from her. His eyes dropped to her behind, swaying almost hypnotically as she walked. _And then...there's also that..._

After a moment Lee went back to completing his questionnaire. He checked the rock box only, as far as music choice was concerned. He checked lead guitar under instruments, debating whether to check the intermediate or advanced box. He ended up checking advanced, admitting that he could pretty much play anything. He also checked intermediate under the vocals section.

"Thank god that's finally done," he muttered as he dropped his pen on the table. He looked around to see Amanda sitting at the bar, some guy with tattoos and a leather vest hanging all over her. _What the hell is she doing?_ he thought as he watched the guy nudge her with his arm. _God! It would be just like Amanda to be taken in by some pickup line from a wanna be musician_...He wanted to get up and go over there and make it clear to this guy that she was _not_ here to swallow whatever rubbish line he was trying to feed her. But they weren't supposed to know each other, so he'd just have to let it go for now. _But you better believe we'll be having a conversation about it later..._

Lee's eyes narrowed as Amanda placed her hand on the guys arm. He was positively itching to go over there. He knew Amanda was a big girl...but the thought of her possibly becoming just another notch on this guys belt...he really felt like punching something all of a sudden.

_And why do you care?_ His subconscious chimed in.

Lee took a long swallow of his Jack n coke as he tried to convince himself that he didn't.

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hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for the reviews so far everyone - please keep em coming :D


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